If there’s one thing Southern gals know how to do, it’s gab. Silly or serious, all it takes is a glass of iced tea and time. Pull up a chair, kick off your shoes, and make yourself comfy…get ready to dish!
Ten Places You’d Take a Tourist to See in Your Hometown
Love this topic, since I live in Tourist Mecca. Try these on for size when you get sick of Mickey.Maitland Art Center – The coolest little place you’ve never been. Andre Smith founded this artists’ colony in the 20s, and now it’s home to studios, a gallery, and some very cool Mayan fantastic gardens. My kids love going here.Wekiwa Springs State Park – Florida looks like this, people.Park Avenue, Winter Park – Old World shopping across from the hallmark park. My first jobs were st shops and restaurants on...
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Black Is the Color of My Own True Hair
Well, not black, actually, but very, very dark brown. With white. Lots of white. I am my father’s daughter, after all.I finally made the decision to let my hair go natural. Natural, for me, will be lots of grey (white) mixed in with this incredibly dark brown that my mom says came straight off my Charleston great-grandmother’s head. Or maybe my Portuguese great-grandmother from her side of the family. Either way, it’s very unlike the medium golden brown I’d been coloring it.Since color had finally been decided, I...
read moreClassy Dame: Meryl Streep
Ah, Meryl; woman of a thousand accents. She can make you believe she came from anywhere: Denmark, Australia, Poland. She can make you believe she’s anyone: a prisoner, a divorcée, a whitewater rafting enthusiast, a powerful magazine editor. She can do just about anything. She’s probably America’s greatest living actress. She’s also managed to raise four normal kids and stay married for thirty years to another artist (you have no idea how weird a house with two artistic temperaments can get). She’s professional,...
read moreBanks Suck
One of my stock classroom jokes is “God put me on this earth for a reason, but it was not to teach math.” I tend to screw up simple math, even though I can write out geometry proofs. Go figure. I got the vocabulary, but my sister got my grandmother’s steel-trap mind for numbers.That steel-trap mind would have come in handy tonight. I just spent the last hour on the phone arguing with my credit card company. Apparently they sent some boneheaded credit information letter back in September–which I never got,...
read moreThese Words of Mine
I’m not actually channeling Natasha Bedingfield this morning–although DD is obsessively listening to this song and “Unwritten” over and over and over–my sister sent me an internet game yesterday that’s reaping some interesting results. Basically, you reply to that person with one word that you think describes her/him, then forward along to a bunch of your friends to see what emerges. Here’s what I’ve received so far:incisive onmiscient talkative peppy optimistic passionate unwavering effusive...
read moreTagged! Weird and Random
Dara Edmondson tagged me to list 10 weird, random facts or habits about myself. Then choose 10 people to tag. So, if you’re reading this and you haven’t been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged!I’m a stacker. My desk looks like the Himalayas, but I can find anything on it within ten seconds.I hate to fold laundry, but I don’t mind ironing.I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue.I used to be an Open-class (aka professional) Scottish Highland dancer.I never grew out of my Misty of Chincoteague phase. If I...
read moreRode Hard, Put Up Wet
Ever have one of those days where you’ve worked pretty much the whole time, but then you turn around to see what you’ve accomplished, and realize you can’t really tell? Yep. I’ve had a day like that.Evil FCAT testing is upon us in the Sunshine State, so that means room changes, strange schedules, missing kids, stress, bureaucracy, you name it. Grades go in in about two weeks, so there’s that. And the regular gig at church. And DS’s baseball schedule. And DD’s soccer schedule, which couldn’t...
read more10 Things You’re Looking Forward to in the Spring
Baseball. Spring training in Grapefruit League territory is a must.Orange blossoms. These are blooming all over already, and the scent is so wonderful.Kite week at the elementary school.Open windows. Spring in Central Florida lasts about 3.2 nanoseconds, so you have to grab those sunny, lower-humidity days whenever you can.Bare feet. Oh, who am I kidding. I go barefoot all the time!Slurpees. The best on sunny afternoons.Spring break! A week away from my school darlings is precious, precious time–especially since they can’t wait to...
read moreChili Princess Redux
w00t! Won third place in the church youth group’s annual chili cookoff again! Last year’s recipe, Not-So-Dumb Blonde Chili, was an outgrowth of a family-favorite white chicken chili I’ve been making for awhile. This year’s entry was a totally new thing. As in, I made it up as I went along this morning and prayed. Looks like everything turned out okay, considering one of the judges was Heather McPherson, the Food Editor of The Orlando Sentinel!If it’s cold up your way, you’re welcome to mix up a batch for...
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